Soundcheck Supplies HARMAN JBL VERTEC® Line Arrays For 70,000 at Justin Bieber Concert in the Philippines

NORTHRIDGE, California –Veteran concert sound supplier Soundcheck of Manila provided a massive HARMAN JBL VERTEC® line array system for Justin Bieber's recent concert at the SM Mall of Asia Concert Grounds, the country's premier venue for large-scale events. The show, part of Bieber's “My World” tour which has spanned the globe since kicking off in June 2010, drew a total of 70,000 fans.

Providing complete audio services for one of the country's most-anticipated pop music events in recent history, Soundcheck deployed a total of 72 VERTEC midsize line array elements, arranged in main left-right arrays of 16 each along with two eight-element out-fill arrays and additional signal-delayed arrays. The system was a mix of VT4888 and powered VT4888DP-DA units equipped with JBL DrivePack® technology and JBL's new DPDA (Digital Audio) input modules with BSS Omnidrive HDâ„¢ processing. To establish a significant low-frequency presence for the show, Soundcheck's system design was based on a nearly 1:1 ratio of subwoofers to full-range speakers in the main stage system. The company provided 20 JBL fullsize arrayable subwoofers, hung in left-right arrays of 10 each, while ground-stacking 24 ultra-long excursion arrayable subwoofers.

“We tuned and aligned the flown VT4880 subs to match and enhance the low-frequency bandpass of our primary line arrays, and then concentrated the sub-low frequencies with the VT4880A subwoofer arrays,” said Jaime Godinez, Owner of Soundcheck. “This format with a 5-way DSP configuration gave us the really â€˜big' sound we were looking for in an open-air setting. Justin Bieber is typically a Clair Global touring account, so the production had extremely high expectations. Justin's mix engineer was very pleased with the results.”

Two signal-delay tower rings, comprising a total of four towers, were in place. These were set at approximately 90 meters (300 ft) and 140 meters (460 ft) from the stage. Each tower supported six JBL VT4888DP-DA powered midsize line array elements supplemented with JBL-loaded dual 18-inch subwoofers. For the performers on stage, eight VT4888DP loudspeakers and eight VRX918SP subwoofers were in use for side fills. For front fill, Soundcheck provided eight VRX932LAP powered Constant Curvature loudspeakers and four VRX918SP powered subwoofers. The system also included 12 VRX915M stage monitors.

All subwoofer crossover and speaker processing was achieved with Crown I-Tech amplifiers, with HD12000's in use for the VT4880A's and I-Tech 6000's powering the VT4880's. HARMAN's HiQnet System Architectâ„¢ software was used for remote control and monitoring of the entire networked system. A Soundcraft Vi6 digital console was also on hand.

“We recently upgraded to JBL's new DPDA digital-audio input module for all of our JBL DrivePack-equipped systems,” noted Godinez. “This now lets us leverage the BSS Omnidrive HD processing. And, from the convenient way the network cables now can be looped along with the box-positioning identification system, to the close integration with the HiQnet software, our setup and system tuning time has been dramatically shortened, especially on large and complex shows like this outdoor date for Justin Bieber.”

HARMAN (www.harman.com) designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of audio and infotainment solutions for the automotive, consumer and professional markets – supported by 15 leading brands including AKG®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon® and Mark Levinson®. The Company is admired by audiophiles across multiple generations and supports leading professional entertainers and the venues where they perform. More than 20 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and infotainment systems. HARMAN has a workforce of about 11,800 people across the Americas, Europe and Asia, and reported sales of $3.5 billion for the twelve months ended December 31, 2010. The Company's shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol NYSE:HAR.